In my endeavor to bring out my creative side and apply principles and skills learned from my international business minor and participation in the Global Student Certificate Program, I am hoping to make the most of being fortunate enough to be in one of the most dynamic cities of the world. I am interested in diversity, culture, and immigration. With these three topics, it would be easy to jump from one topic to the other as they all complement each other well.
New York City holds an immense amount of diversity and the extent of globalization is far-reaching. Although I am a native New Yorker and have grown up in a multicultural environment, I cannot help but notice immense differences in culture and environments in other states and countries. New York’s cultural richness and diverse population intrigues me, making it so unique in comparison to the rest of the world. I was in disbelief the first time I traveled outside of NYC, finding it difficult to accept that the rest of the world did not have such a diverse population and fast-paced, constantly changing lifestyle. When I traveled to India for the first time, I was in even more shock, never knowing that the world could even be so different. Now I realize how far NYC has come, carving out its own truly distinct environment from all the different people and cultures present.
While most immigrants retain their culture, or at least some of it, it undoubtedly blends in to the American culture, and here, to the “New York culture”, and becomes something unique. Many different communities have formed, in which niches of cultures can be found, with people of the same race or religion living close to each other. The elements of different communities blend, allowing for integration of customs, foods, ideologies, and traditions. After all, NYC has been and still is known the melting pot. Being so open to everyone, there couldn’t be an easier and better way to retain ones culture while being an American, than living in NYC.
Although this is a broad topic, I hope to narrow it down by project, and then tie everything together in the end in a way that is coherent and effective. I am looking forward to exploring the diversity of the city and capturing precious moments and clips that will come together to form a beautiful story.
–Shalika Mugrai
